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  • In Who Could That Be at This Hour?, a prequel to A Series of Unfortunate Events, Daniel Handler satirizes pulp mysteries and uncovers the parallels between detective fiction and childhood. In both, he says, an outsider is trying to make his way in a mysteriously corrupt world.
  • Brewing coffee is a neverending science project, according to barista Sam Penix, owner of Everyman Espresso in New York City. Grind-size, brew method, coffee beans (which are really seeds), water temperature can all affect the flavors that end up in your cup. Harold McGee, author of On Food and Cooking, explains some of the chemistry of coffee.
  • The English folk artist died long before his songs found a wide audience. Joe Boyd, who produced two of Drake's three albums, is releasing an album of live performances culled from a series of Nick Drake tribute concerts.
  • Today is 'Tax Day,' and that means misery for lots of people. Tell Me More wants to lighten things up with some tax humor. The Capitol Steps are a political satire troupe in Washington D.C., and their repertoire includes some songs poking fun at taxes.
  • Scottish musician Emeli Sande's debut album is titled Our Version of Events. It sold more copies than any other album in the U.K. last year, and is now a hit in the U.S.
  • Nearly 15 million Americans have a moderate to severe food allergy. In kids, the rate is one in 13. Kari Nadeau, who studies food allergies at Stanford, is currently testing a technique to desensitize children who have multiple severe allergies to foods like nuts, soy, milk, wheat and shellfish.
  • In 2003, a hospital nurse named Charlie Cullen was arrested under suspicion of injecting patients with lethal doses of a variety of medications. He is now considered one of the nation's most prolific serial killers. Journalist Charles Graeber explains how the hospital system failed to stop Cullen.
  • Chilean poet Pablo Neruda was exhumed in early April, with the goal of discovering whether the poet's death was from prostate cancer or poison. In a The New York Times op-ed, Amherst College professor Ilan Stavans argues that Neruda's legacy is more important than the way he died.
  • A system known as "return-free filing" would allow filers to receive a pre-filled tax return prepared by the government and make any necessary tweaks. According to a ProPublica-NPR report, this approach, which exists in some countries, has taxpayer advocates at odds with tax preparation companies.
  • Advertisers want to hear what you have to say, and many are about to roll out new kinds of ads you can actually have a conversation with. Marketers are hoping to leverage the power of voice and the kinds of technologies that power Apple's Siri to start selling us all sorts of things.
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